Thursday, March 1, 2012

Black Paris Profiles™:Velma Bury – Part 1

Velma Bury, the grande dame of African-American Paris, has lived in the City of Light for over 40 years. A politically-active art aficionado and retired professor, she now runs Les Boules et Les Cubes, the company that handles the estate of her late husband, Pol Bury. Velma has personally witnessed the metamorphosis of the Paris art world, the city’s African-American population, and her beloved Montparnasse. She serves as advisor to Les Amis de Beauford Delaney, the French non-profit association that placed a tombstone on artist Beauford Delaney’s previously unmarked grave in 2010. As president of Les Amis, it is my great pleasure to bring you Velma’s story!

************


Velma at her Montparnasse home
© Discover Paris!

Velma left her home in New York and her activities in the civil rights movement to permanently relocate to France in 1968 with her soon-to-be husband, Belgian sculptor Pol Bury. She and Pol booked passage on an Italian ocean liner and sailed to Cannes. Velma recalls that the ship was quite sumptuous and she has vivid memories of the four-day journey.

************

Black Paris Profiles is now available on Kindle.  Only excerpts are available on this blog.
To get your copy of Black Paris Profiles, click HERE.

************


Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

If you liked this article, share it with your friends and colleagues by clicking on one or more of the social media buttons below!

No comments: